On Friday, 20th November 2015, Kendo Nagasaki was once more seen in a wrestling ring, in a hard-working suburb in the North of England \u2013 it sounds reminiscent of the Golden Years of British Professional Wrestling! And in many ways, it was indeed a glorious echo of those days \u2013 the local hall was full of passionate fans of genuine wrestling, Kendo was greeted with both admiration and wariness, and there was electricity in the air!\n<\/p>\n
Kendo had been invited to attend the wrestling event by his tag-team partner of many years, Blondie Barratt, who was not wrestling, but promoting the event, and in one of his favourite venues, Blondie wanted to present Kendo with his own \u201cWrestling Icon\u201d award, as a thankyou for the many years of their incredible team-work.\n<\/p>\n
Rumour had been reaching Kendo that wrestling had been growing in popularity \u201cup North\u201d, and so he decided to accept this award, and also perform an Empowerment Ceremony in the ring. If the rumour was true, then Kendo also wanted to reward the new generation of wrestling fans, so he also decided to hold a prize draw for fans of 15 years of age and under.\n<\/p>\n
Prize draw tickets were given to those 15-and-younger as they arrived, and everyone received one of Kendo\u2019s mystical \u201cEmpowerment\u201d flyers, and after the third match, the \u201cAnthem for Nagasaki\u201d echoed through the building\u2026 it was time!\n<\/p>\n
Led by his spokesperson, Roz MacDonald, and followed by his personal assistant of many years, Lawrence, Kendo made his way regally to the ring, accompanied by the customary wonder and suspicion and respect of the audience\u2026 The MC announced Blondie\u2019s award, and he came into the ring and presented Kendo with an engraved silver salver and a \u201cWrestling Icon\u201d certificate.\n<\/p>\n
Blondie then made a speech about how much the award meant to him \u2013 having been chosen to partner Kendo in a tag team had done wonders for Blondie\u2019s career in wrestling, and had taken him to places far and wide, and he wished his award and certificate to reflect his appreciation of the success it had all brought him, even as a \u201cheel\u201d! It was a touching speech, which shed welcome light on how Kendo\u2019s influence had meant so much to Blondie, and had impacted his life so positively; if Kendo wasn\u2019t so impassive, he might have been moved too!\n<\/p>\n
Then it was time for the 15-and-under prize draw. Roz MacDonald took the mic, and invited one of Kendo\u2019s most devoted and passionate fans into the ring to perform the ticket draw \u2013 Amanda Buckley-Taylor. Amanda and her husband Andy have been regular visitors to Kendo\u2019s Retreat, enthusiastically taking to the messages of his charity, the Kendo Nagasaki Foundation, which seeks to empower people through the philosophy of Kyu Shin Do and Zen Buddhism. (Amanda also has a fantastic selection of Kendo tattoos!) While Amanda chose the winning tickets, Andy snapped countless souvenir pictures!\n<\/p>\n
There were 3 prizes, and the winners were all invited to the ring \u2013 and their ages ranged from early teens down to under 5 \u2013 truly, a new generation of wrestling fans! It was true, then \u2013 wrestling is BACK, for an enthusiastic new generation, as the good people of Stocksbridge emphatically showed!\n<\/p>\n
Then it was on to Kendo\u2019s \u201cEmpowerment Ceremony\u201d. Roz explained how Kendo has always drawn on the strength and wisdom of the samurai of ancient Japan, and how they used \u201cempowerment phrases\u201d before battle, like the one on Kendo\u2019s flyer\u2026 When Kendo struck his mystical singing bowl, those who had put themselves in accord with the spiritual samurai would be empowered, and when the moment came, every hand in the hall shot up, holding Kendo\u2019s flyer. The singing bowl rang through the electric silence, which turned to enthusiastic applause when Roz announced that they had all now been empowered! This crowd clearly welcomed empowerment from the spiritual samurai, Kendo himself!\n<\/p>\n
During the interval, a long, long queue of autograph and picture hunters waited outside Kendo\u2019s dressing room, for the chance to get his signature and be photographed with him; it was great to see so many old-fashioned autograph books in the hands of so many youngsters \u2013 even in today\u2019s technological world, the magic of a real autograph is once more being appreciated.\n<\/p>\n
All-in-all, it was a great evening \u2013 Blondie\u2019s heart-felt award clearly did mean a lot to Kendo, the presence of so many new young wrestling fans at the event bodes very well for the future of British wrestling, and the entire audience was eager, good-natured, and passionate \u2013 and with Kendo Nagasaki being seen at the centre of things, it seems like the good old days are most emphatically back!<\/p>\n